empty Federal Aviation Administration Seal
empty FAA Home About FAA Jobs News Library empty
empty Pilots Travelers Mechanics More empty
empty
empty
empty
empty
Aircraft
empty
Airports &
Air Traffic
empty
Data &
Statistics
empty
Education &
Research
empty
Licenses &
Certificates
empty
Regulations &
Policies
empty
Safety
empty
Search:  

July 25, 2008

The FAA Turns 50!


WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is having a 50th birthday party — and you’re invited!

Starting August 1, the FAA will offer reporters an exciting range of media opportunities to highlight the agency’s extraordinary achievements since 1958 in making air travel today’s fastest and safest means of mass transportation. Opportunities for print and electronic media include:

  • 50th Anniversary Morning Talkers.  The FAA formally marks its anniversary on August 21. That morning, Acting Administrator Robert A. Sturgell, Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski and other senior FAA officials will be available to do national and local morning shows during the week of August 18.
  • Weather stand-ups from the FAA’s Command Center or other sites.  Since 1994, the command center in Herndon, VA, has monitored weather and other factors to manage this flow of air traffic within the continental United States. For those not in the Washington area, various FAA air traffic control facilities might be available for weather stand-ups.. Contact the regional communications office covering your area. More Command Center information is at: www.fly.faa.gov/Products/Information/information.html
  • “Be a controller!”  Test-drive our advanced ATC simulators at the FAA Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. Also possibilities for interviews with controller trainees.
  • Our long-time compatriots are special people.  We’ve identified 32 FAA people with long federal careers stretching back more than 50 years. They’re found all over the country, and many have interesting tales about where they’ve been and what they’ve done to help create and maintain the best, largest and safest airspace system in the world. Many are available for local interviews. In addition to those with long FAA histories, we have compiled profiles of a cross-section of FAA employees of varying ages, roles, locations and interests who tell a story of rich diversity and depth of commitment to the FAA. We'd be happy to share their stories with you and make them available for features locally or nationally. Contact the FAA communications staff in your region to find out who’s where, and to schedule an interview.
  • Spot a UAV overhead.  Flights of unmanned air vehicles in the US are approved and monitored by the FAA and it’s become a technology with more and more uses, from wartime reconnaissance to spotting forest fires in remote areas. We’ll have a display of several types at Headquarters August 21, and FAA staffers to explain and point out the features of each one. Another great stand-up opportunity.
  • So you want to be a pilot?  We’ll have a general aviation simulator up and running in the FAA’s Orville Wright Building, 800 Independence Avenue SW in Washington during the celebration, a site with good visuals and plenty of potential for stories about what it takes to be a pilot — and what it takes to continue to be a GOOD pilot. Bring your own goggles and silk scarf.
  • The FAA’s “Flying Classroom.”  N34, the FAA’s restored DC-3 flight inspection aircraft, makes a perfect setting for stories about the agency’s 50th anniversary. The plane will be in the Washington, DC, area on August 20-21. More information on N34 can be found at: www.faa.gov/about/history/photo_album/caa_to_faa/index.cfm?cid=Memorable.
  • Runway Status Lights stand-ups.  Do live or taped reports direct from the Runway Status Lights installation at Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport or San Diego International Airport. The FAA announced on July 14 that it will deploy this runway safety enhancement at 20 more major airports across the country. Photos and information at:/www.faa.gov/aso/RunwaySafety/Docs/Figueroa%20Summit.ppt#5
  • Navigation Nuts ‘n’ Bolts. Accompany our skilled Technical Operations specialists as they maintain air and ground navigation aids and radars at airports across the country. More information is at: www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/techops/navservices/
  • Roam the “Boneyard.”  The National Aircraft Accident Investigation School at the FAA’s Aeronautical Center has trained aerospace accident investigators since 1963. Report from the “boneyard,” where a wide variety of wreckage and aircraft/rotorcraft parts are available to examine. School instructors will be available for informational briefings and interviews. Additional details at: www.tsi.dot.gov/divisions/Aviation/default.aspx
  • Get up close with an airport firefighting and rescue truck.  Airports around the nation and the world use sophisticated, specialized vehicles to fight aircraft fires and rescue passengers and crews. We’ll have one on display on the Independence Avenue side of FAA Headquarters at 800 Independence Ave. SW on Aug. 21.

For electronic media, we also will have available approximately four minutes of B-roll illustrating highlights of the FAA’s first 50 years.

###